Radhika Roy

Some Lesser Known Facts About Radhika Roy

• Radhika Roy is an Indian journalist. From 1998 to 2011, she was designated as the managing director of NDTV. Initially, NDTV was started as a news production house in India under the leadership of Radhika Roy. Soon, it was regarded as the first independent Indian news telecaster. On 29 November 2022, Radhika Roy and her husband, Prannoy Roy, resigned as directors on the board of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPRH) following the Adani Group’s open offer to acquire New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV). ^[4]The Indian Express

• Radhika met Prannoy Roy when she was a teenager. They both went to London to pursue their higher education and got married there. They returned to India after completing their studies and settled down in Delhi. To start her career in journalism, Radhika started working at the editor’s desk at The Indian Express. Later, she worked as a news coordinator at the India Today magazine for some period of time.

• In 1984, Radhika Roy founded New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV) along with her husband Prannoy Roy. They both are regarded as the founders of NDTV; however, Prannoy, joined NDTV later and Radhika was the founder of NDTV.

• Soon, NDTV started working for the Doordarshan as a production house and became the first independent Indian news broadcaster. NDTV set an example and pathfinder for broadcast journalism in India and is regarded as a legacy brand in the Indian news industry. ^[5]Reuters Institute

• She started working as the managing director of the company, and later, she also worked as a chief executive producer at NDTV. The editorial and backend processes were handled by Radhika and Prannoy Roy became the public face of the broadcasting. While at work, she demanded high ethics for editorial integrity and impartiality and incorporated a legally binding code of conduct in the company. She was also famous for introducing the facility of sanitary napkins in NDTV offices. ^[6]She The People As per a senior executive of NDTV,
  

  If Prannoy Roy is the face of the organisation, Radhika Roy is its heart and soul.”

• Between 1998 and 2003, NDTV launched its first news channel in a partnership with Star India that was broadcasted 24×7 on television. In partnership, Star India controlled the infrastructure of the business while NDTV managed the editorial and production areas. NDTV charged the fees for these services from Star India while Star kept the profits.

• In 2003, the partnership between NDTV and Star India ended. The reason behind the end of the partnership was the disagreement in providing complete editorial control to NDTV.

• Soon after the split, NDTV launched its two own News channels named NDTV 24×7 and NDTV India and became an independent news broadcaster. In May 2004, the company went public and by the end of 2004, in market capitalisation, it became one of the major leading media companies in India.

• In 2003, Radhika and her husband Prannoy were awarded the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Information, Communication, and Entertainment.

• In 2007, in the history of television and radio broadcasting, she was featured as one of fifty major women figures by the museum named Paley Center for Media.

• Reportedly, the NDTV news channel started facing pressure through legal actions and intimidation of advertisers on the network after Narendra Modi became the prime minister of India. At that time, this pressure was considered as the collapse of media freedom in India. ^[7]The New York Times Soon, the Indian government tried to ban the Hindi news channel NDTV but was stopped due to mass protests against the order. ^[8]Deutsche Welle The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided the offices and house of Roys after a news reporter of the NDTV questioned the statements made by the spokesperson of the ruling party. ^[9]Economist

• In 2015, it is said that Roys was in a debt agreement with the billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and they were questioned about the control percentage they had in their company after paying a series of loan transactions to the Reliance industries during the NDTV’s global financial crises. ^[10]The Caravan At the end of 2019, Reporters sans frontières, an international news organisation, released a report that 16.32% of the stake in the NDTV company was held by Radhika and 15.95% of the stake was in the name of her husband. Additionally, they both held a 29.18% stake through an equivalent holding in the NDTV company and RRPR Holding Pvt Ltd. ^[11]Media Ownership Monitor

• Fortune India also listed her in the top 50 most powerful Indian businesswomen. In 2016, Fortune India declared that Radhika Roy remained on the list of the top 50 most powerful Indian businesswomen because of her,
  

  Sheer staying power in the face of adversity.” ^[12]Fortune India

• In 2019, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) prohibited Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy from holding and managing the upper board positions in the NDTV company for two years. Reportedly, they were accused of retaining the loan agreement information of the company. ^[13]The Hindu Roys appealed against the order and the case appeared at The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). ^[14]Business Standard In 2020, Roys were fined ₹27 crores by SEBI and ordered to deposit 50 percent of the amount before the second hearing. ^[15]Business Line Consequently, Radhika Roy appealed to the Supreme Court of India (SCI) which later on exempted them from depositing the amount. Justice Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud remarked after the result of the case that it was brash for the tribunal that demanded 50 percent of the amount directly. ^[16]News Laundry

• Radhika Roy is a private person who keeps herself away from the media and keeps a low profile. She is often regarded as,
  

  Quiet and behind the scenes.”